BATON ROUGE - LSU men's basketball coach Trent Johnson will wear an "ON THE LINE" button during Saturday's game at South Carolina in support of "Statement Week" as part of a national effort to educate African-American men on the increased risk of Prostate Cancer.

During Black History Month in February, ON THE LINE, a national prostate cancer education and awareness campaign, is teaming up with the Black Coaches and Administrators (BCA), the organization that represents and supports African American collegiate basketball and football coaches, to encourage African American men to not only learn the risk factors of prostate cancer, but also how to communicate with loved ones and physicians about their health.

ON THE LINE and the BCA have proclaimed the week of Feb. 18-26th at "Statement Week." During Statement Week, nearly 100 African American NCAA Division I men's basketball coaches will show their support and raise awareness of prostate cancer by wearing either a blue bow tie or an "ON THE LINE" button during their games.

"Statement Week" is also being supported by The Southeastern Conference and other conferences such as the ACC, the Big 10, the Big 12 and the MEAC.

Along with information and resources at www.ontheline.com, ON THE LINE will also launch a series of Public Service Announcements that will air nationally and regionally on TV and radio.

In the SEC, the other four head coaches participating along with Coach Johnson are: Anthony Grant of Alabama, Mike Anderson of Arkansas, Tony Barbee of Auburn and Cuonzo Martin of Tennessee.